Just be glad that it’s only a police office.
6 Likes
Disgusting. The cops at my only sold pot and pills! But now SODA?!
3 Likes
Hoyt Axton wrote that song from painful experience; he had a lifelong battle with drug addiction. Great songwriter with a great voice, though.
1 Like
once again dyslexia led me astray!
how disappointing they were not busted for selling banana soda…
…would have been a better story.
1 Like
What @anon32019413 probably should have said is that any time you ban (or tax/regulate to excess) a product that a sufficiently large number of people think it’s OK to possess, you get a black market.
In the past: alcoholic drinks, (in some places) marijuana
Currently: (in some places) marijuana, (in some places) guns, ripped music and video files, (in some places) cigarettes, most other mind-altering drugs
In the future: plastic straws?
In the future
1 Like
I have to wonder about them making enough money off this to even be worth the efforts. Laziness trumps greed at a certain point. Although:
This hustle would have this effect–getting the student body to seek them out for interactions. Aside from the ethical concerns, this would actually be a benefit to them in their jobs. Kids stop by for sodas, and they shoot the bull to find out what’s going on in the halls away from the eyes and ears of adults.
It needn’t be an either-or. They could be being greedy bastards, and also finding a clever way to keep up with the kids.
2 Likes
Except that I was being sarcastic in saying that. I don’t think breaking the rules and making it seem like you are the cool adult is an acceptable way to illicit trust in young ones.
I’d rather a resource officer simply be a trusted adult within whom our kids can talk to and confide in to HELP and be a positive RESOURCE for them.
This was not the way to do that. Which I think you would agree with.
1 Like
Sure.
Right. The sarcasm wasn’t lost on me, I was being contradictory. It’s possible that it was part of the motivation, or even the primary motivation. And I’m pretty sure I’m going to get dragged here for the suggestion cops could be anything but 100% pure malice and self-interest…
Honestly, I think we could make a better judgement on the motivations if the article mentioned the price and quantities being sold to students.
2 Likes
I concur, it is possible that they could have had altruistic intentions…not malicious ones. So I am not here to drag you on that point at all.
I am simply saying IF their intentions were positive…this was not the best methodology to employ IMHO.
And yes…agreed. More facts/details always helps formulate a better understanding…but why would we want facts and details?! Its more fun to wildly speculate and make assumptions!!! 
1 Like
To reduce demand change the norms. Part of changing the norms is to make it less convenient and more expensive. Raising the price may have unintended consequences or may not be as straightforward as one would hope.
Everyone seems to be assuming the cops knew the rules. Occam’s Tazer says stupidity is the first thing to rule out.
1 Like
As was snarkily hinted at upthread, police involvement in black markets is not at all unusual. Even if they’re not handling the retail directly, there are very often police in the supply chain somewhere.
You’re lucky that it was just soda this time. It could’ve been meth.
1 Like
Except that more people drank after Prohibition than before.
More people used drugs after the start of the WOD than before.
More people shared media files after the DMCA than before.
“Changing norms” by criminalizing what used to be legal has a pretty dismal track record of success.
4 Likes
OTOH, taxing the hell out of tobacco, banning advertising and mandating ugly packaging has had a significant impact on Australian smoking rates.
Prohibition of personal indulgences is usually disastrous, but regulation is not completely futile.
6 Likes
On the bright side, the entire school just got an active lesson in the history and social effects of Prohibition. However, if people were capable of learning from history, we wouldn’t be in this situation to begin with.
2 Likes
If you’re a “law enforcement officer” and people are HANDING YOU MONEY during your work day, then you’re doing it wrong.
3 Likes
Same here, especially when you add in restrictive bylaws about where you can smoke. And make smoking cessation assistance both affordable and accessible. If we supported people with other addictions the way we support people quitting smoking, here… It’d be a revolution. Nicotine replacement is available off-the-shelf in any pharmacy, and you can sometimes get financial assistance. We also have the graphic packs, age restrictions, and massive bylaws about where you can smoke.
It’s not prohibited, just highly discouraged. And it seems to be going out of fashion (tobacco, that is. We are rather famous for another heavily smoked substance, of course, thus proving that prohibition really doesn’t work, sometimes).
3 Likes
To be perfectly pedantic, it was just the sale of sodas which was banned. Not possession of sodas.
So not quite prohibition.
So that’s very similar to alcohol prohibition in the US in the 20s. The Volstead act prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcohol, but never possession or consumption.
1 Like
If you’re going to go down as a Coke pusher then you should at least sell the kind that gets you more than a dollar per customer.
1 Like
